"The musicians who posted their work on Bebo.com are no different from investors in a start-up enterprise. Their investment is the content provided for free while the site has no liquid assets. Now that the business has reaped huge benefits, surely they deserve a dividend.

What

I have very mixed feelings about this whole topic.

I like Billy enormously, incidentally, and being a musician myself believe strongly in the copyright of songs but times have changed.

I was lucky enough to have made a fortune during the era of huge sales but these days songs and music are predominantly free - whether or not they should be. I think musicians should look to other areas for payment whilst enjoying making music that gets heard.

As I've said elsewhere, none of us made music to make money. That seems to have been forgotten in the enjoyment of cash.

I would still happily allow everything I've ever done to be free if it meant people hearing and appreciating it.

Difficult one.
I get paid adequately for playing(as I hope do others) and am becoming increasingly aware that I am getting extra work as a result of my Myspace listens, which are as credible to the punter/booker as an old school general release.
And yes of course I would like to just play to people, but I need to eat, that said, Bebo?? I know nothing about whatsoever.

What a catch twenty two...the internet has enfrachised so many independent operators to reach a worldwide audience on an unprecedented scale yet it takes much of our work for free.

On the other hand, millions of downloads, especially "singles", are legitimately purchased every week. Perhaps the Radiohead experiment provides the truth with a 1:5 ratio?

There is a fascinating article in the current issue of the PRS magazine headed up by Peter Gabriel. The article by no means provide answers, however, it does raise some interesting points, some of which have been chewed over on this board.

Back to the radio campaign and the studio...business as usual.

One of the great things with the internets` addition as a support tool, is how much people actually know about the act and songs, before one gets to a venue whereas previously you would have been unknown due to lack of radio support etc.
There was a long period in which cover sets were essential to procure work, this is blatantly no longer the case.
The networking sites are seen as labels by the younger generation which does point to the essential fact that they, are going to have to behave like them.

Unsigned band? There is no such thing anymore, its a dead phrase, every act has equal chance of looking bonafide to the public.

You can have a million MySpace friends and still not count on any of them to buy your records.

Totally agree ITK, but I am talking from keeping a live(and unique) music profile as high as possible point of view for an act.